Jamesemt Posted July 11, 2009 Share Posted July 11, 2009 Having played five gigs with the band, just wondering how many songs you play on a typical pub gig? Apart from obviously starting and ending both sets with strong songs, is there any formula to fast/slow stuff? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Low End Bee Posted July 12, 2009 Share Posted July 12, 2009 Did 18 last night. Two sets of 9 with a drinks interval. Up tempo at each end with any slower stuff in the middle seems to work fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crez5150 Posted July 12, 2009 Share Posted July 12, 2009 2 x 45 mins or there abouts is the norm for a pub band Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrenochrome Posted July 12, 2009 Share Posted July 12, 2009 Including encores, we do 30 in AOS and 27 in Delirium. 45-50 mins and the about an hour. No set formula but most pub audiences don't go for more than 1-2 slow ones per set IME. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waynepunkdude Posted July 12, 2009 Share Posted July 12, 2009 14 songs in 30 mins. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Veils Posted July 14, 2009 Share Posted July 14, 2009 I'd tend to take the 3 strongest songs, 2 at the start and one at the end. Have a think about what songs have the most impact to start and finish the set, because to be honest this is what I reckon people tend to remember the most. If you make a strong start to your set, people will be more likely to pay attention. Having said that, I am a believer of not having anything that you consider to be a weak song in a set Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skankdelvar Posted July 14, 2009 Share Posted July 14, 2009 (edited) Some of this depends on the audience. If it's just casual punters in a pub and you're there for 'ambience', there's an argument in favour of starting with a couple of throwaways, on the assumption that no-one's really listening that hard. OTOH, you could try going in with all guns blazing, just to wrench them out of their torpor! As you say, another view is that punters only really remember the first and last songs in any set, so that's where to put your best ones. Swings and roundabouts... Assuming your aim is to 'build excitement', you probably want to plan an upward curve in terms of speed, intensity. This doesn't mean stacking all the slow ones at the front and the fast ones at the end - more like alternating 2 of one speed with one of the other, building the overall tempo so the fastest of the fast ones is at the end of the 45. Given that your songs will probably be in different keys, you may wish to look at how the transitions from one song to another work out. Some changes will sound more pleasing or more jarring than others. Something I've tried is chopping rehearsal recordings up in Audacity so that each file has the intro and the outro of each song. You can then play around with your sequencing and see what works best for you. Edited July 14, 2009 by skankdelvar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lemmywinks Posted July 14, 2009 Share Posted July 14, 2009 We usually stick to the 2x45 rule, although sometimes chop the first set down to extend the second depending on what time people decide to start drinking and dancing I think this usually ends up being 12 songs in each set, depending on what we're playing. Oh and sometimes we have to play Sir Duke twice cos people love it (i don't complain either!) Sometimes we do a solid 1hr30 or just an hour I remember one of our first weddings was a Greek do, turns out the bride's side of the family only wanted to hear the Bozouki player they had hired so we did about 10 or so songs then packed up. We had a Walkabout cancellation the previous night (still got paid) so ended up earning £1200 for 40 mins work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alant Posted July 15, 2009 Share Posted July 15, 2009 I guess it depends on the venue - how long you are booked to play for etc. We play mostly around the Oxford area and with extended hours now most pubs seem to expect at least 2 x 1 hour sets. Our second set often extends to nearly 1 and half hours. We usually play between 30 - 35 numbers over the two sets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted July 15, 2009 Share Posted July 15, 2009 [list] [*]Never play without a set list!! [*]You're not playing a series of numbers. The evening is a whole and everything you do is part of that. [*]Start all sets with at least 3 strong, up tempo numbers. [*]In the first set, play the first 3 numbers one after the other with no chat. Say hello after the 3rd number. [*]If you want to fit in slower numbers, drop the tempo in the middle of the set and then build up to the end of the set. [*]Always end the first set on a good one. [*]Don't end a set on an instrumental. [*]The last set should be designed to build to the last number. [*]If you are doing an encore you should do at least 2 numbers, even if you have to finish the set a little early to fit them in. The audience will feel that you've "given" them more. [*]Know what your encore is going to be before you start. [*]Always use a set list. Never discuss or argue about the set between numbers. That looks very amateurish. [*]Finnish one number then give a concise, snappy intro to the next, or go straight into the next number. Don't waffle, swear or be rude to the audience, no matter how much they deserve it. [*]Don't hang around between numbers, you'll let the tempo of the evening drop and you'll loose the audience. [*]The spaces between the numbers are as important as the numbers themselves. [*]Don't drink or chat amongst yourselves on stage. It's not a social. [/list] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lojo Posted July 15, 2009 Share Posted July 15, 2009 [quote name='chris_b' post='541194' date='Jul 15 2009, 12:32 PM'][list] [*]Don't end a set on an instrumental. . [/list][/quote] just received the set list for fridays pub gig, and how strange, guitar solo at the end of first set (neil young) and the 2nd set (smoke) who wrote the set list, you can guess anyway to answer the first post, my pop covers band played 23 in 2 sets last week, to be fair some of them only last about 2 mins, short and sharp, went down very well, we did and encore "one step beyond" requested as we played it earlier in the set, drunk 40 year olds doing the dance loved it rock covers band this week 2 sets of around 10 songs + too many guitar solos! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamesemt Posted July 15, 2009 Author Share Posted July 15, 2009 Thanks for all the replies...keep em coming!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Low End Bee Posted July 17, 2009 Share Posted July 17, 2009 Don't do what a, ahem, pro musician friend of mine did when I went to see him a couple of years ago and write the set list in pink highlighter pen. Walks on , red stage lights come on, stares at what appears to be a blank piece of paper now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iamapirate Posted July 18, 2009 Share Posted July 18, 2009 Last gig we did was about... 6 songs in 20mins (really short, I know). But I really don't know how you can fit 14/15 songs into 30mins. That just seems a bit to short a song for me. By the time it really starts to get going its gone. The longest song we have is about 4:30, and the shortest 2:30, and I reckon that should be a universal rule. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Golchen Posted July 19, 2009 Share Posted July 19, 2009 [quote name='chris_b' post='541194' date='Jul 15 2009, 12:32 PM'][list] [*]Never play without a set list!! [*]You're not playing a series of numbers. The evening is a whole and everything you do is part of that. [*]Start all sets with at least 3 strong, up tempo numbers. [*]In the first set, play the first 3 numbers one after the other with no chat. Say hello after the 3rd number. [*]If you want to fit in slower numbers, drop the tempo in the middle of the set and then build up to the end of the set. [*]Always end the first set on a good one. [*]Don't end a set on an instrumental. [*]The last set should be designed to build to the last number. [*]If you are doing an encore you should do at least 2 numbers, even if you have to finish the set a little early to fit them in. The audience will feel that you've "given" them more. [*]Know what your encore is going to be before you start. [*]Always use a set list. Never discuss or argue about the set between numbers. That looks very amateurish. [*]Finnish one number then give a concise, snappy intro to the next, or go straight into the next number. Don't waffle, swear or be rude to the audience, no matter how much they deserve it. [*]Don't hang around between numbers, you'll let the tempo of the evening drop and you'll loose the audience. [*]The spaces between the numbers are as important as the numbers themselves. [*]Don't drink or chat amongst yourselves on stage. It's not a social. [/list][/quote] Good answer! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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